Think tank, IMANI Africa, has revealed that there is a turf war among scientists at Noguchi which is threatening chaos and has raised eyebrow from the public over a deal between Frontier Healthcare Services and the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research.
This comes on the back of an alert issued by IMANI Africa, that, an Institution by the name ‘Frontiers Healthcare Services’ is receiving services and resources from Noguchi without proper approvals and regulatory licenses.
“We are thus surprised at the brewing “civil war” among scientists in that fine institution about the institution’s bizarre relationship/non-relationship with an entity incorporated on June 3rd, 2020 (registration number; CS079792020) by name ‘Frontiers Healthcare Services’. Itself owned by a labyrinthine maze of companies in Ghana and beneficially controlled from the notorious tax haven of the Island of Dominica.
“We have received worrying complaints from Noguchi scientists and others urging us to ‘publicize their grievances’ over this matter as they cannot do so themselves for fear of retribution”
The Health Facilities Regulatory Agency of Ghana (HEFRA), the Ministry of Health and Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research have been implored by think tank, IMANI Africa, to explain to the general public why the standard policy on operations and regulations on services were avoided in dealings with the Frontiers Healthcare.
“HEFRA, the Ministry of health and Noguchi individually or jointly tell Ghanaians, beginning with their own staff, what informed the exemptions to standard policy under which a 3-month company is being allowed to operate licensed and regulated services, whilst regulators continue to harass longstanding law-abiding, companies in the health sector for far minor infractions.”
According to IMANI, staff are concerned and agitated about Noguchi using resources including some workers, to work for Frontiers Healthcare without informing the employer and without any charges or auditing trials. Also, IMANI claims that, research students were highly involved in the mensuration of data, all these without following due processes.
Contrary to Frontier Healthcare Services, Noguchi is not profiting even though their resources are been drawn to provide these services.
Claims by IMANI suggests that, a Professor William Ampofo, Head of Virology at Noguchi, “oversaw the supposed validation processes for Frontiers Healthcare to begin making money, these approvals had not been secured,” It remarked.
Buttressing their claim with the laws of Ghana, the Health Institutions and Facilities Act, 2011 (Act 829) states that, a person shall not operate a facility unless the facility is licensed under this Act. That a person shall not operate equipment in a facility specified in the first schedule unless the facility in which the person operates is licensed under this Act.
Meanwhile, IMANI has hinted that, a product by the Frontier Healthcare has not passed through the appropriate review yet.
“More alarmingly, our sources are adamant that a “globally novel” biomedical intervention, as the Frontiers Healthcare product has been billed cannot be used on human without the approval of the Ethical Review authorities at the institution. And yet, the Department of Virology has gone ahead to work with Frontiers Healthcare without any institutional review. What is going on?”
The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research set up in 1979 as a semi-autonomous institute of the University of Ghana, has been one of the frontline research institutions that has aided in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic in Ghana and IMANI Africa has recognized and expressed its appreciation in their push towards curbing the spread of the virus.
“When the story of how Ghana survived CVOVID-19 comes to be told, the sacrifices of dozens of scientists, technologists and administrators working at the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research (“Noguchi”) to ensure that Ghana’s testing capacity could rise to the occasion notwithstanding resource limitations would certainly receive pride of place.”
However, IMANI suggests that, the only way it believed the impasse could be solved is to inform the public about the situation and propel the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency of Ghana (HEFRA) and the Ministry of Health to take action.
